Grain-Free Tomato Tart with Cauliflower Ricotta
Ingredients
Instructions
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1Prepare a 10" tart pan by lightly oiling it.
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2Combine the almond flour, coconut sugar and salt in a large bowl, mix to combine. Add the coconut oil and mix with a fork to incorporate. Add the water and mix it in with your hands to form a soft, unified ball of dough.
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3Transfer the dough to the oiled tart pan. Form a crust by pressing the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan, using your hands or a spatula, until you have an evenly formed crust. Prick the crust with a fork several times and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
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4Once the crust is chilled, bake it for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Let cool before filling.
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5Steam or boil the cauliflower florets until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Let it cool until safe to handle.
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6Combine the cauliflower with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor or a high-speed blender with a tamper, until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. Fold in the basil.
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7Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Prepare a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
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8Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, face up. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 20 minutes, or until blistered and lightly caramelized. Change the oven setting to low broiler.
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9Assemble the tart. Transfer the cauliflower ricotta into the tart pan with the crust and gently distribute the cheese in an even layer. Top the ricotta with the tomatoes, distributing them to cover the whole surface of the tart.
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10Place the tart under the broiler for 3-4 minutes (or 5 if you have a weaker broiler), until the tomatoes are even more caramelized, and the top of the ricotta surface is slightly dried out. Let cool for 20-30 minutes, garnish with extra basil, and serve. Keep the leftovers refrigerated. The ricotta will become a little more solid after some time in the refrigerator.
You guys, this tart! It’s one of our very favorite recipes that we’ve developed lately. Beaming with excitement to share it with you.
Our days have been full to the brim preparing for our retreat in Italy, planning a commissioned magazine shoot, and working on a new project that we are hoping to launch in November. It’s amazing to have our hands full with work that we’re in love with, but I would also be lying if I said that it’s all smooth sailing. Stress and overwhelm always find their way to creep in, and it’s been so important to employ our favorite self-love tools and practices to counteract stress and anxiety (much more on this in our upcoming new project!). Slowing down to cook a nourishing tart is definitely one of them.
We are genuinely grateful for summer produce right now, since it needs so little to taste delicious. A lot of it doesn’t even need to be cooked: just chop, season, and serve, which has all been so helpful during this busy time. This tart is not exactly in the chop, season, and serve category, as it requires a little more work and thought. It does, however, depend on the sweetness of late summer tomatoes and cauliflower, and it’s so worth the extra little bit of work than you might be used to during this abundant season.
The tart consists of three elements that seem to have been made for one another: a 4-ingredient, grain-free crust, a savory cauliflower ricotta, and a layer of juicy, caramelized tomatoes on top.
I love making ‘ricotta’ with almonds or cashews, but thought that my usual recipe would be too heavy for this tart, since I needed a fairly good amount of it to fill up the whole crust. Cutting the nut ricotta with some steamed cauliflower worked amazingly well. If anything, the cauliflower contributed to the nutty and savory flavor of the cheese even further, while making the texture fluffy and light. It never hurts to add a dose of cruciferous veg to your meal, either ;) The richness of the ricotta is the best compliment to the sun-fed, juicy caramelized tomatoes that crown the tart. Add a (vegan) buttery crust to that, and you’re really in business.
Because this tart is plant-based and doesn’t contain eggs to thicken the ricotta, and because I didn’t want to over-complicate the recipe with any vegan thickeners, the ‘cheese’ is quite soft straight out of the oven. It’s still possible to get a nice slice though, if you work with a sharp knife and a dependable pie server. The ricotta layer does thicken up after a night in the fridge, so your leftovers will be even more sliceable. We hope you’ll give it a try!
for the crust
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil - soft (at room temperature) or melted, plus more for oiling the tart pan
- 2 cups almond flour or freshly ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ice-cold water
for the cauliflower ricotta
- 2½ packed cups cauliflower florets
- ¾ cup almonds - soaked overnight in purified water
- ¾ cup cashews - soaked for 2-4 hours in purified water
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- handful of basil leaves - chopped
to assemble the tart
- 2-3 cups cherry tomatoes - halved
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- more basil for garnish
to make the crust
- Prepare a 10" tart pan by lightly oiling it.
- Combine the almond flour, coconut sugar and salt in a large bowl, mix to combine. Add the coconut oil and mix with a fork to incorporate. Add the water and mix it in with your hands to form a soft, unified ball of dough.
- Transfer the dough to the oiled tart pan. Form a crust by pressing the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan, using your hands or a spatula, until you have an evenly formed crust. Prick the crust with a fork several times and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
- Once the crust is chilled, bake it for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Let cool before filling.
to make the cauliflower ricotta
- Steam or boil the cauliflower florets until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Let it cool until safe to handle.
- Combine the cauliflower with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor or a high-speed blender with a tamper, until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. Fold in the basil.
to assemble and bake the tart
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Prepare a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
- Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, face up. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 20 minutes, or until blistered and lightly caramelized. Change the oven setting to low broiler.
- Assemble the tart. Transfer the cauliflower ricotta into the tart pan with the crust and gently distribute the cheese in an even layer. Top the ricotta with the tomatoes, distributing them to cover the whole surface of the tart.
- Place the tart under the broiler for 3-4 minutes (or 5 if you have a weaker broiler), until the tomatoes are even more caramelized, and the top of the ricotta surface is slightly dried out. Let cool for 20-30 minutes, garnish with extra basil, and serve. Keep the leftovers refrigerated. The ricotta will become a little more solid after some time in the refrigerator.
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